Lady Argentea hesitates a moment.
Long enough to think up a lie, Kazmir realizes.
"No, I do not," she says. "Possibly you met my 'replacement'? I've overheard my captors talking about some sort of creature they're using to replace me, something that can assume someone's appearance. I hope you didn't free this creature and send it back to my family!"
A land of mirrors and lies Kazmir thinks to himself. he turns to Nadya, "I think we have a fake on our hands. Get some rope."
He turns back to the Lady, "I aplgoize, but I really must insist. We are going to bind you and then search you and the room. As you might understand I'm in a hurry so please cooperate."
The false lady sighs. "So you saw through it, did you?"
'Lady Argentea' stands, her skin flowing until she resembles only a vaguely humanoid, faceless shape.
"No, you are going to die," it says in Lady Argentea's voice, lunging towards Kazmir with cruelly-clawed hands.
Kazmir backs up, not wanting to go to to toe with the doppleganger. So.. they planned to replace the Lady...to what end, mere confusion?
Bizzk moves forward, eager to attack like usual. The massive bird pushed into the room against the shapeshifter.
The doppelganger dodges aside, making an odd hissing noise. It slashes at Bizzk with its claws.
Nadya, for her part, bravely follows Bizzk and fires an arrow.
The doppelganger growls in anger as her arrow strikes.
As Nadya's arrow hits her mark, Bizzk flaps in anger.
Meanwhile Kazmir listens for anyone approaching the disturbance.
Kazmir doesn't hear any signs of someone else coming.
The doppelganger easily avoids Bizzk's beak, and keeps up its assault.
But this time Bizzk hops back, and its claws rend only the air.
Nadya, as always, continues firing arrows.
She hits again, her arrow slashing its shoulder, though it does not stick in the wound, instead continuing on and breaking against the wall.
Kazmir keeps an eye out, hoping they can end this quickly and quietly.
Bizzk's beak tears at the doppelganger, whose form is seeming increasingly tattered. It stubbornly refuses to stop fighting, slashing again at Bizzk.
It manages to catch the heron with one claw, leaving a bleeding gash.
Nadya murmurs something under her breath as she fires yet again.
But she does not have as much fortune with this shot as the last.
Kazmir is sad the creature will not simply surrender, knowing it is clearly outmatched. Why fight to the death for a cause defeated?
Bizzk manages to strike the thing in the neck, and it soon falls to the ground, dying, making disturbing burbling noises as it dies.
Kazmir watches the thing die, still oddly moved by it. Still, they are busy. "Do you see anything of use in the room? We are still not alone on this floor, soon we can rest however."
Nadya looks over the room while Bizzk, badly wounded, limps back over to Kazmir's side.
"Nothing useful," Nadya says in disgust after rifling through the contents of the room's two chests. "Unless you need dress like Jadwiga."
The dwarf shakes his head, "Not right now anyway. Let's move on."
Kazmir leads the way to the next bedroom and carefully opens the door.
This room was unoccupied, but it looked recently used. The bed had been only roughly made, and a chest sat nearby it.
Kazmir casts Detect magic on the chest, making sure to keep everyone else back.
There seems to be some magic... but inside the chest.
Carefully, and prepared to jump back, Kazmir grabs some linen off the bed and uses it to open the chest, being sure his skin doesn't touch it. Once open, he peeks inside.
The chest is locked, but with the application of some force you're able to get it open.
Inside are a few coins (14 gp) and three potions (two of undetectable alignment, one is actually an ice floe elixir).
Kazmir takes all the gear and heads toward the main room at the end of the hallway.
The little group troops into a richly appointed room. Three mirrors hang from the walls, while a red carpet leads up to one of the odd ice teleporter pads. The ice of the walls has been turned transparent in spots, forming three windows of sorts. A pair of fine sculptures of nymphs flank the carpet.